LIVE! No differences within Maha coalition: Pawar

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Tue, 07 July 2020

No differences within Maha coalition: Pawar

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23:26 Thane hospital gives Covid victim's body to wrong family

The case of a COVID-19 patient going missing a few days ago in Thane city was solved late Tuesday evening after it was it found that his body was handed over by the hospital to the wrong family.

The kin of the 72-year-old man had filed a missing persons case in Kapurbawdi police station late Sunday night after they were unable to trace him post his admission in the newly-commissioned Global Hub COVID facility on June 29.

Officials said the body of the man was handed over to a family in Kopri two days ago which conducted the last rites soon after.

"A probe by a civic team set up on Tuesday found that the kin of this family in Kopri is alive and under treatment at a COVID facility. The hospital has said the goof-up was a result of case papers of the two patients getting mixed up,"an official said. -- PTI

22:53 No differences within Maha coalition: Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said on Tuesday that he met Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to discuss issues of the state, and there was no bickering within the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

Pawar was speaking to reporters after a meeting with a traders' association in Pune.

Asked about his meeting with the chief minister at `Matoshree', Thackeray's residence in Mumbai, on Monday, Pawar quipped that newspaper reports about differences within the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance was news to him.

"There are no differences. The discussions with the CM were related to the issues that are before the state and there were no other issues," he said.

Reports about tensions in the ruling coalition emerged after the home department's order of transfer of 10 deputy commissioners of police in Mumbai was rescinded.

The Home portfolio is held by the NCP.

Talking about the issue, Pawar said transfers of IPS or IAS officers are being done with the chief minister's approval.

Asked about opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's jibes at Thackeray for rarely stepping out of house, Pawar said if a person with key responsibilities comes out, people come together and this should be avoided.

To a question, the NCP chief said he was happy with Thackeray's performance as chief minister.

After taking over as CM, Thackeray had plans to work on several issues, but priorities changed with the outbreak of coronavirus, he said.

Meanwhile, traders in Pune are in favour of decentralization and shift of businesses to the outskirts of city post-coronavirus, Pawar said.

During the meeting, they demanded around 1,000 acres of land near Pune for trade and business sector, he added. -- PTI

22:36 At 806, Mumbai logs lowest cases in 2 months

The coronavirus tally in Mumbai rose to 86,132 on Tuesday with the addition of 806 new cases -- lowest singe-day figure in nearly two months -- while the death of 64 patients took the toll near the 5,000-mark, the city civic body said.

With 806 new infections and 64 deaths, the tally of COVID-19 cases increased to 86,132, while the toll rose to 4,999, said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

This was the lowest number of COVID-19 cases recorded in a day in Mumbai in 55 days.

Earlier on May 13, 800 COVID-19 cases were recorded in the metropolis.

In Mumbai, the first COVID-19 patient was detected on March 11, while the first death was recorded on March 17.

According to the BMC, the number of recovered patients rose to 58,137 as 985 more people were discharged from hospitals.

The civic body said the city now has 22,996 active cases, while 933 new suspected patients of coronavirus were admitted in hospitals. -- PTI

21:42 Brazil Prez Bolsonaro tests positive for Covid

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for coronavirus.

The 65-year-old has repeatedly undermined the pandemic and have flouted social distancing.

Brazil is the second worst-hit country after the United States with 1.63 million cases.

The country has reported over 65,556 deaths. -- ANI

21:05 Vizag leak: LG Polymers CEO, 2 directors held

Police on Tuesday night arrested the CEO and two directors besides eight other officials of LG Polymers in connection with the styrene vapour leak incident in which 12 people were killed and 585 fell sick on May 7.

Visakhapatnam city Commissioner of Police R K Meena gave this information to PTI over phone.

The arrests were made a day after the High-Power Committee, appointed by the state government to probe the vapour leak, submitted its report to Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, blaming multiple inadequacies on part of LG and slackness of management over poor safety protocols and total breakdown of the emergency response procedures in the plant that resulted in the tragedy.

The Gopalapatnam police registered a case on May 7 against LG Polymers at R R Venkatapuram, under various IPC Sections including 278 (making atmosphere noxious to health).

Exactly two months later, the arrests were made. -- PTI

A Nepalese lawmaker was sacked by her party on Tuesday for defying its decision to unanimously endorse the constitutional amendment to revise the country's map to include three strategically key Indian territories, according to media reports.

The Opposition Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) decided to sack Sarita Giri for breaching the party whip to withdraw her amendment registered at the Parliament Secretariat against the Nepal government's second amendment to the Constitution.

A three-member panel led by party general secretary Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav recommended that the party sack Giri from both as a lawmaker and the party member, and the meeting of the officer bearers of the party took the decision on Tuesday, the Kathmandu Post said.

The Constitution amendment, which was aimed at updating the new administrative and political map of the country on the national emblem, was unanimously endorsed by the House of Representatives on June 18.

The SJP and the main Opposition Nepali Congress had backed the move by the government of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli.

Contrary to her party's official position on the endorsement of the new map, lawmaker Giri registered a separate amendment proposal at the Parliament Secretariat.

Giri sought to retain the old map on the national emblem arguing that there was no clear evidence to claim Lipmiyadhura, Lipu Lekh and Kalapani as Nepali territories.

The Samajbadi Party had asked Giri to withdraw the amendment and warned her of internal action, but Giri had refused to take back her amendment proposal.

The India-Nepal bilateral ties came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8.

Nepal reacted sharply to the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through Nepalese territory.

India rejected the claim asserting that the road lies completely within its territory. Nepal later released the revised political and administrative map of the country laying claim over the strategically key areas, more than six months after India published a new map in November 2019.

India had then sternly asked Nepal not to resort to any 'artificial enlargement' of territorial claims. -- PTI

'The BMC is all set to increase the number of COVID tests being conducted in the city per day. And to serve this purpose, BMC has decided that now no prescription will be required to get a coronavirus test. BMC on July 7 said that now based on the symptoms, people can approach labs and ask for a coronavirus test without any doctor's prescription. BMC will also issue an official order stating the same by the afternoon of July 7. And once the order is out, the same will be conveyed to the labs in the city,' reports Santia Gora in timesnownews.com.

'Recently, a warning was issued by the central government in which the Government said that it has noticed that some states and Union Territories are not fully using their COVID testing capacity, especially private labs are not fully used by these states and UTs. Centre warned the states and UTs to optimise their testing capacity. Since then, BMC is making efforts to increase the number of tests being done in the city,' she reports, here.

19:56 Dharavi reports only 1 new COVID-19 case

Dharavi, known as Asia's largest slum, reported only one new coronavirus patient on Tuesday which took the case tally in the densely populated area in the heart of Mumbai to 2,335, an official stated.

The last time Dharavi had recorded a single new coronavirus case was on April 5, three months ago.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), however, did not share any latest information about COVID-19 deaths in the area.

The BMC official said that Dharavi has only 352 active COVID-19 cases as 1,735 patients have been discharged from hospitals upon recovery.

The first coronavirus case was found in Dharavi on April 1, 20 days after the first case was found in Mumbai.

Some 6.5 lakh people are estimated to live in Dharavi which is spread over 2.5 square kilometres. -- PTI

19:52 Tougher lockdown in Bengal from July 9

The West Bengal government on Tuesday decided to expand the areas under lockdown and impose tougher restrictions from July 9 to stem the relentless spike in COVID-19 cases, a senior official said.

The containment zones and buffer zones around them will be clubbed together and constitute a 'broad-based' containment zone where total lockdown will be imposed from 5 pm on Thursday.

Local authorities will try and arrange home delivery of essential commodities for the residents of these areas, he said.

'These broader containment zones may be subjected to strict lockdown and all offices, government and private, all non-essential activities, congregations, transportations and all marketing, industrial and trading activities be closed,' an order issued by Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Alapan Bandyopadhyay said.

It, however, did not mention how long the fresh spell of the shutdown will last. The current phase of lockdown, in force till July 31, was largely limited to containment zones alone. -- PTI

The Central Board of Secondary Education has rationalised the syllabus for classes 9 to 12 for the academic year 2020-21 by up to 30 per cent to make up for academic loss caused due to COVID-19, Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' announced on Tuesday.

"Looking at the extraordinary situation prevailing in the country and the world, CBSE was advised to revise the curriculum and reduce course load for the students of classes 9 to 12.

"To aid the decision, a few weeks back I also invited suggestions from all educationists on the reduction of syllabus for students and I am glad to share that we received more than 1.5K suggestions. Thank you, everyone, for the overwhelming response," Nishank tweeted.

"Considering the importance of learning achievement, it has been decided to rationalize syllabus up to 30 per cent by retaining the core concepts," he added.

Universities and schools across the country have been closed since March 16 when the central government announced a countrywide classroom shutdown as one of the measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.

A nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24, which came into effect the next day. While the government has eased several restrictions, schools and colleges continue to remain closed. -- PTI

The Nagpur bench of Bombay high court on Tuesday granted furlough of 28 days to gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli who is serving a life sentence in the Central Jail here for the 2007 murder of a corporator.

A division bench of Justices ZA Haq and NB Suryawanshi allowed Gawli's writ petition which had challenged an order of the deputy inspector-general of prisons (east) that rejected a furlough leave application.

The DIG (East) had rejected the application on the ground that Gawli was the head of a criminal gang and his release on furlough could lead to a possible law and order situation.

However, Gawli's counsel Ali submitted in HC that the former had been released on furlough or parole on eight occasions earlier and he had not committed any breach of conditions laid down. -- PTI

18:53 Demand for work under MGNREGA shoots up

Demand for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act or MGNREGA has more than doubled in this fiscal, so far, due to the COVID-19 lockdown and about 42 per cent of the total allocation of Rs 1.01 lakh crore for the employment scheme has already been distributed among states, sources said on Tuesday.

The way demand for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act has "sharply" increased this year, it seems a sizeable amount will be required to meet demand, they said.

To provide relief to migrant workers who returned to their villages from across the country during the lockdown, the Centre has expanded the ambit work offered under the scheme. It now includes toilet construction and dragon fruit plantation, sources in the government said.

They said only the labour cost for construction of toilets, part of the Swachh Bharat Mission, will be paid under the MGNREGA.

Besides this, dragon fruit plantation, which is mostly done in northeastern states, has also been included in the list of works, the sources said

Officials in the Rural Development Ministry said the ambit of work has been expanded to provide as many opportunities as possible to engage migrant workers who have returned to their native states.

Sources in the ministry also suggested that additional funds might be required for the MGNREGA as the demand for work under it has more than doubled compared to last year.

Out of the Rs 1.01 lakh crore total allocation for the employment guarantee scheme, which also includes the Rs 40,000 crore allocated under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, Rs 43,000 crore has already been allocated to states, they said.

If the existing rate of rise in demand for work remains, a substantial amount will be required for the implementation of the MGNREGA in the existing financial year, sources said. -- PTI

Never the one to walk the beaten path, former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has decided not to do any commercial endorsements amid the COVID-19 pandemic and is instead busy with organic farming, gearing up to launch his own brand of environment-friendly fertilisers soon.

The World Cup-winning swashbuckler, on a sabbatical from cricket for the past one year, turned 39 on Tuesday.

His manager and childhood friend Mihir Diwakar, while speaking to PTI, gave a peek into the trailblazer's reclusive life at his home in Ranchi.

"Patriotism is in his blood, be it serving for the country (in defence) or (farming) the land, he's very passionate about it. He has about 40-50 acres of farm land and he is busy growing organic crops like papaya, banana there," Diwakar said.

"He has stopped brand endorsements and has said that till life comes to normal, he won't do any commercial activity," Diwakar, who runs the MS Dhoni Cricket Academy under the name of Aarka Sports, added.

The wicketkeeper-batsman was expected to be back in action at the IPL but that has been postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was recently seen driving a tractor during the lockdown. Diwakar said they are soon going to launch their organic fertiliser under their company's name Neo Global. He said the fertiliser is being tested at Dhoni's farm.

Dhoni recently spoke about the harmful impact of pesticides in a video to promote organic farming.

"We have a team of experts and scientists and they have developed the fertiliser and it should be launched within two-three months," Diwakar said.

"I spoke to him past midnight. It was a normal business talk. As usual, Dhoni would be at home with his family, with a quiet birthday celebration."

Asked whether retirement has crossed Dhoni's mind, Diwakar said: "Being friends, we don't talk about his cricket. But looking at him, he's not all thinking about retirement."

"He is very determined to play the IPL. He has worked really hard for this. If you remember he was there in Chennai one month in advance before everything was shut down," he pointed out.

"He has maintained his fitness regimen at his farmhouse and will start practice after the lockdown is lifted. Everything now depends on how fast the situation returns to normalcy," he concluded. -- PTI

The Enforcement Directorate has filed a money laundering case against the GVK group, the Mumbai International Airport Limited and others to probe alleged irregularities to the tune of Rs 705 crore in the operations of the Mumbai airport, officials said on Tuesday.

The central probe agency has filed the enforcement case information report (equivalent of a police FIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after studying a recent CBI FIR filed against the same entities.

The ED will probe if funds were laundered to amass personal assets and if proceeds of crime were generated by the accused, they said.

"We have not received any notice from the Enforcement Directorate," an spokesperson for GVK said.

The CBI case pertains to the alleged siphoning off Rs 705 crore from the funds of MIAL, a joint venture under public-private partnership between the GVK Airport Holdings Limited and the Airports Authority of India besides other investors, by showing inflated expenditure, under-reporting of revenues, fudging of records among others.

The ED, according to officials, is expected to summon company officials to record their statements and it may also attach their assets under the PMLA after some stages of investigation are completed.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has booked Gunupati, a director in MIAL, his son GV Sanjay Reddy, managing director in MIAL, the companies MIAL, GVK Airport Holdings Limited (a GVK group company) and nine other private companies allegedly used to camouflage the inflated figures through sham deals and unidentified AAI officials.

The AAI entered into an agreement with MIAL on April 4, 2006 for the modernisation, upkeep, operation and maintenance of the Mumbai airport.

It is alleged that the promoters of the GVK group in MIAL, in connivance with their executives and unidentified AAI officials, resorted to siphoning off funds in multiple ways, the CBI had said early this month.

The CBI had also carried out raids in Mumbai and Hyderabad after filing its FIR early this month.

The CBI has alleged that the accused siphoned off funds showing execution of bogus work contracts to nine companies in 2017-18, causing a loss of Rs 310 crore.

The promoters of the GVK group allegedly misused the reserve funds of MIAL to the tune of Rs 395 crore to finance their group companies, the CBI alleged. -- PTI

18:07 Road construction on India-Nepal border halted

The construction of a road on no man's land along the India-Nepal border here has been halted, Pilibhit District Magistrate Vaibhav Srivastava said on Tuesday.

"After talks between officials of both the countries, the construction work near pillar number 38 (near Tatarpur village) has been stopped. Information about this has been sent to senior officials, he said.

Uttar Pradesh shares a 599.3 km long open border with Nepal touching seven districts - Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich, Sravasti, Balrampur, Sidhharthnagar and Maharajganj.

Srivastava said officials of the district administration, police, SSB DIG along with the force had gone to the border area on Sunday for inspection following which they got information that construction work was going on no man's land.

On getting the information, the officials reached the India-Nepal border, and held talks with Nepalese officials.

The construction work has been stopped, he said.

Superintendent of Police Jaiprakash and SSB DIG H N S Bisht along with Sashastra Seema Bal jawans accompanied the DM to the border. -- PTI

India's total number of coronavirus cases and fatalities per million population is one of the lowest in the world, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday even as the country's infection tally went past the 7 lakh-mark and the death toll rose to 20,160.

Referring to the 'WHO Situation Report-168' dated July 6, the ministry said India's COVID-19 cases per million population is 505.37 as against the global average of 1,453.25.

Chile has witnessed 15,459.8 COVID-19 cases per million population, while Peru has 9,070.8 cases per million people.

The United States, Brazil, Spain, Russia, the United Kingdom, Italy and Mexico have 8,560.5, 7,419.1, 5,358.7, 4,713.5, 4,204.4, 3,996.1 and 1,955.8 cases per million, respectively, according to the WHO report.

"The WHO Situation Report also shows that India has one of the lowest deaths (due to COVID-19) per million population. India's cases of death per million population is 14.27 while the global average is more than its four times, at 68.29," the ministry said.

The United Kingdom has 651.4 COVID-19 related deaths per million population, while the metric for Spain, Italy, France, the USA, Peru, Brazil and Mexico is 607.1, 576.6, 456.7, 391.0, 315.8, 302.3 and 235.5 deaths, respectively, the WHO report said.

India has ramped up its hospital infrastructure to adequately and effectively manage coronavirus cases, the ministry said.

The preparedness includes arrangement of oxygen support, ICU and ventilator facilities. As on July 7, there are 1,201 dedicated COVID hospitals, 2,611 COVID healthcare centres and 9,909 COVID care centres to look after patients with very severe' to very mild' coronavirus symptoms, it said.

"Such level of preparedness has shown results in continuously improving the recovery rate and resulting in low case fatality rate, the ministry said.

"Early detection and timely effective clinical management of COVID-19 cases have resulted in increasing daily recoveries," it said.

During the last 24 hours, a total of 15,515 COVID-19 patients have been cured, taking the cumulative figure of recovered cases among COVID-19 patients in the country to 4,39,947 as on Tuesday.

"Coordinated efforts at all levels of the national and state governments for prevention, containment and management of COVID-19 are showing encouraging results with consistently increasing gap between recoveries and active cases. Presently, there are 2,59,557 active cases and all are under medical supervision.

"As on date, the number of recovered cases exceeded that of the active cases by 1,80,390 on Tuesday. The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients has increased to 61.13 per cent," it said.

Concerned over the increase in coronavirus cases, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said that the amount of penalty may be increased for not wearing a mask in public places.

He also directed the health department to issue necessary guidelines in this matter.

"Chief Minister Mr Yogi Adityanath said that if anyone found without a mask in a public places, then the penalty amount can be increased. He has directed the Health Department to issue necessary guidelines in this regard," the Chief Minister's Office tweeted.

According to the state Principal Health Secretary Amit Mohan Prasad, a total of 1,346 new COVID-19 positive cases were reported in Uttar Pradesh in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of active cases to 9,514 in the state.

A total of 19,627 have been discharged after recovering from the disease. The death toll stood at 827.30,329 samples were tested yesterday. 9,22,049 samples have been tested in the state so far.

According to the Union Health Ministry, India has reported 7,19,665 COVID-19 cases including, 2,59,557 active cases, 4,39,948 cured and 20,160 deaths as of Tuesday. -- ANI

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government saying that for the past three years the state has topped the list in terms of murder incidents in the country.

"If we look at the data of murders in the country, then Uttar Pradesh is in top of the list for the past three years. Twelve incidents of murder take place per day in the state," Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

She said, "From 2016-18, there was 24 per cent increase in the crime against children.

"The Congress leader questioned, "The Home department and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh have always tried to hide these data of the state and what else they could have done?"

"This has caused the criminals to roam around freely in the state. The criminals have the protection of power and the law and order bow before them. The cost of all this is being borne by dedicated officers and jawans," she added in the tweet.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday said it has made the seventh arrest in the Pulwama attack case, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed in an IED blast on February 14, 2019. NIA arrested the seventh accused named, Bilal Ahmed Kuchey, whom the agency has termed as "a terror associate" on July 5.

According to the agency, Kuchey a resident of Hajibal, Kakapora, Jammu and Kashmir, runs a sawmill at his place and harboured and extended logistic support to the Jaish-e- Mohammad (JeM) terrorists involved in the Pulwama attack.

The main perpetrators in the case stayed in his house and Kuchey further introduced them to other over ground workers (OGWs) who provided safe houses during their stay and planning of the attack.

He also provided the JeM terrorists with high-end mobile phones which were used by them to communicate with the Pakistan-based JeM leadership as well as among themselves for giving final touches to their planning and for the execution of the attack, according to the agency.

Further, one of the mobiles provided by him was also used for recording the video clip of a terrorist Adil Ahmed Dar, which became viral after the attack.Kuchey was produced before the NIA Special Court, Jammu on July 6 and from there he was sent to 10 days' remand by the agency for custodial interrogation.Further investigation is underway. -- ANI

16:35 Remembering the valiant Capt Vikram Batra

Read our interview with the family of Captain Vikram Batra, the soldier who fought valiantly and sacrificed his life during the Kargil War in 1999. It was due to his efforts that the Indian flag was unfurled on Tiger Hill on July 4, 1999 morning and India's Operation Vijay was successful. He sacrificed his life for his nation and was posthumously given the highest wartime gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra.

Read: The soldier who became a legend

A close relative of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who had been staying at his official residence in Patna, has tested positive for COVID-19, highly placed sources said on Tuesday. They said test reports of the relative, niece of the chief minister, came out on Monday after which she was taken to the isolation ward at a hospital here for treatment.

The sprawling 1, Anne Marg premises were, meanwhile, being sanitised thoroughly, they added. Notably, samples of the chief minister besides those who were in regular touch with him had been collected over the weekend after Acting Chairman of the state legislative council Awadhesh Narayan Singh tested positive for coronavirus.

Kumar had interacted with Singh on July 1 at a ceremony where nine MLCs, elected recently, were administered the oath of office. One of the newly-elected legislators, Ghulam Ghous of the JD(U) headed by Kumar, has also tested positive. -- PTI

16:08 India, China armies to move back 1.5 km

Indian Army Sources: "The disengagement process between the Indian and the Chinese Army had started at Hot Springs and Gogra yesterday and is expected to be completed at both locations in few days. The Chinese Army had started dismantling its structures since yesterday.

"Under the mutual disengagement, both sides will disengage and move back by 1-1.5 km from the friction points. The two Armies are likely to hold further talks after the disengagement process is completed."

In the first signs of easing tensions, the Chinese military on Monday began a limited pull-back from a number of friction points in eastern Ladakh, a day after NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed on completing the ongoing disengagement process along the LAC "expeditiously", government sources had said.

Doval and Wang, who are designated Special Representatives on Sino-India boundary question, held a telephonic conversation on Sunday during which they had a "frank and in-depth exchange" of views and agreed that a "complete disengagement" of troops at the "earliest" was necessary for full restoration of peace in the border areas, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday.

15:55 Rahul is not a doc: Indian ventilator maker

Days after former Congress President Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Centre is procuring "substandard" ventilators from a private firm amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Diwakar Vaish, the owner of AgVa company, said that international vendor manufacturers do not want Indian ventilators to be promoted and hence, they are trying to sabotage indigenous efforts.

"We have not made the ventilator overnight. We have been in the market for three years. We have developed this step by step. This ventilator has all parameters that a normal ventilator has... Our ventilators are five to 10 times cheaper than normal ventilators. A normal ventilator costs Rs 10-20 lakh. Our ventilator is just Rs 1.5 lakh. In this, international vendor nexus is very strong. Just like when Indian military equipment was indigenised, there was a lot of negative reviews. The same thing is happening here. What a Rs 10 lakh ventilator does, ours is doing for Rs 1.5 lakh. Will international associations, international vendors accept this? That is why they are trying to sabotage," said Vaish in an interview to ANI.

Rahul Gandhi, in a tweet on July 5, accused the Narendra Modi government of "putting Indian lives at risk" and "ensuring that public money is used to buy sub-standard products". Gandhi posted the link along with a Huffington Post article that alleged AgVa ventilators "fudged" software in their product and hide poor performance.

"Rahul Gandhi is not a doctor. He is an intelligent man. He should have done due diligence before making such allegations. He should have consulted doctors. I am ready to give a detailed demonstration in the hospital on any patient," Vaish said.

Doubts were raised on the functionality of the indigenous ventilators. Vaish explained that the doctors needed to be explained and given a demonstration of the ventilators following which they could be used properly.

He also clarified that if third party installations were faulty and were done without keeping AgVa in the loop, it could result in faulty readings, which he suspected was the case in some hospitals.

"LNJP Hospital in Delhi did not reject our ventilator. They said our ventilators do not have BIPAP and CPAP. But later they sent us an e-mail confirming that our ventilators have BIPAP and CPAP... As far as Mumbai is concerned, JJ Hospital and St George Hospital got the installation done through a third-party. They did not install it properly. Hence, their doctors could not use it. If you put diesel instead of petrol, what would happen?" added Vaish.

He explained the working of the ventilator, saying it is unique and functions well if used properly.

"I would like to say that our ventilator is unique. We need to explain that if not used properly, it will not function. Later when our engineer went, they pointed out two mistakes - FiO2 (Concentration of Oxygen a patient inhales) should be central automatic and NIV should have 100 per cent oxygen. We explained to them that these two are not in this model, but can be upgraded. On May 26, our engineers went. What the hospitals did before that we do not know. I went there on June 30 and gave them a demonstration. It was working. We have a video recording, it is working on patients," added Vaish.

The central government ordered 10,000 of the firm's COVID-model ventilators to AgVa Healthcare as part of India's response to the pandemic

15:54 'No community spread of Covid in Karnataka'

The Karnataka government on Tuesday told a central team that community spread of COVID-19 was not happening in the state. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa today held discussions with the team consisting of Arti Ahuja Additional Secretary- Health and Family Welfare and P Raveendran, Director- Emergency Medical Relief (EMR), regarding COVID-19 situation in the state. Senior Ministers and officials of the state government were present at the meeting.

"There is no community spread so far, I am making it very clear. We are still in between the second and the third stage, we haven't reached the third stage yet," state Health Minister B Sriramulu said.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, he said, we have informed this to the central team and they too have accepted it and have advised us to see to it that we don't reach the third stage. As of July 6 evening, cumulatively 25,317 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 401 deaths and 10,527 discharges. Noting that the central team during the meeting with the Chief Minister, Ministers and officials discussed COVID-19 management in the state, Sriramulu said, they have suggested for more testing to be done at the containment zones. He said the team also appreciated the measures taken by the state government and suggested to do more. The team will be visiting various containment zones, COVID care centres and meet Chief Minister once again. -- PTI

Face masks and hand sanitisers are no more essential products as their supply is sufficient in the country and, therefore, are now kept out of the purview of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, Consumer Affairs Secretary Leena Nandan said on Tuesday. On March 13, the Union consumer affairs ministry had declared face masks and hand sanitisers as essential commodities for 100 days to boost supply and prevent hoarding of these items in its fight to check the spread of coronavirus.

"These two products were declared as essential items till June 30. We are not extending further as there is enough supply in the country," Nandan told PTI. A decision in this regard was taken after consultation with the state governments, she said.

"We have checked with all states and got information from them that there is sufficient supply of these two items. There is no supply concern," she added. -- PTI

15:19 SOPs for shooting films soon: Govt

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday said that the Centre will issue Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to speed up the resumption of film production, which got stalled due to COVID-19 pandemic.

"In view of the epidemic, the government will release the Standard Operating Procedures for film shooting in India, to speed up the resumption of film production which has stalled due to COVID-19," Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said at the inaugural address at 'FICCI Frames 2020', which is an international convention of the Indian film industry.

"The government is also introducing incentives in all productions including TV serial, film making, co-production, animation, gaming. These will be announced soon," he added.

Earlier, shooting for films, teleserials, advertisements, OTT platforms was stopped in view of the coronavirus pandemic, which later resumed in the month of June.

With a spike of 22,252 cases, India's COVID-19 count breached the seven lakh mark and reached 7,19,665 on Tuesday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (ANI)

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15:09 After travelling 400 km, baby dies within hours of testing COVID-19 positive

An eight-month-old baby who travelled around 400 km from Arunachal Pradesh to Meghalaya via Assam for treatment died within hours of testing positive for coronavirus, officials said on Tuesday. The baby boy was referred to the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) in Shillong from Arunachal Pradesh's Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences for treatment of some ailment, they said. His parents brought him all the way to Shillong by road. They arrived at the hospital in the early hours of Monday.

"On their arrival, the swab samples of the baby were collected and sent for tests. The baby boy tested positive for COVID-19 and later died in the evening, Meghalaya Health Minister A L Hek said. Both of his parents and their driver, however, tested negative for the disease, he said. The baby is the second COVID-19 patient to die in Meghalaya, officials said. The first death in the state was recorded on April 15. So far, the state has reported 89 COVID-19 cases. Of them, 44 are undergoing treatment and 43 have recovered, besides the two deaths. Of the active cases, 22 were detected at the BSF headquarters. PTI

UK PM Boris Johnson

14:43 Brits still don't wear face masks: Nobel winner

Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, one of the UK's most prominent scientists and President of the Royal Society, on Tuesday warned that the country is lagging behind others in the mandatory use of face masks to prevent the rapid spread of coronavirus.

Professor Venki, as the Indian-origin structural biologist is known, said that no one should leave home without a face covering and believes it is time that face masks in indoor public settings, where physical distancing is tougher, are seen in the same light as not driving when drunk or without seatbelts.

The UK is way behind many countries in terms of wearing masks and clear policies and guidelines about mask wearing for the public. The public have taken to handwashing and distancing but remain sceptical about face coverings, he said.

It used to be quite normal to have quite a few drinks and drive home, and it also used to be normal to drive without seatbelts. Today both of those would be considered antisocial, and not wearing face coverings in public should be regarded in the same way, he said.

Prof. Venki, who also chairs a committee of high-level experts to analyse emerging data from countries around the world to identify the most important factors that can help slow the spread of coronavirus as well as find long-term solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic, believes that alongside hand washing and physical distancing, face coverings are equally crucial to prevent a feared second wave of the pandemic in Britain.

His message comes as a new review of evidence reinforces the benefits of face coverings and even suggests they may protect the wearer as well as those around them.

However, the British public remain much less likely to wear face coverings in public compared to other countries, including the US and India. In the UK, face coverings are only compulsory on public transport but even that rule is flouted often due to the lack of strict enforcement. -- PTI

Diesel price in the national capital on Tuesday touched an all-time high following a rate hike after a week-long hiatus. Diesel price on Tuesday was increased by 25 paise per litre, according to a price notification of state-owned oil marketing companies.

This took the retail selling price of diesel to Rs 80.78 per litre in the national capital - the highest ever. There was no change in petrol price for the 8th straight day, and it continues to be priced at Rs 80.43 per litre. Rates vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT. Petrol and diesel price were last revised on June 29.

In the last one month, diesel price has been increased on 23 occasions while petrol rates have risen 21 times. The cumulative increase since the oil companies started the cycle on June 7, totals to Rs 9.17 for petrol and Rs 11.39 in diesel. -- PTI

The Supreme Court Tuesday extended till July 15 the protection granted to senior journalist Vinod Dua from any coercive action in a sedition case filed against him by a local BJP leader in Himachal Pradesh over his YouTube show.

A bench headed by Justice U U Lalit, in a hearing conducted through video conferencing, restrained the Himachal Pradesh police from arresting Dua in the case and decided to hear the journalist's plea next Wednesday. It also said that Dua, who has joined the police probe through virtual medium, is not required to answer supplementary questions of police in the case. Earlier, the top court had assembled on a Sunday and had granted protection from arrest to Dua till "further orders" in the sedition case.

An FIR against Dua under IPC provisions for offences of sedition, public nuisance, printing defamatory materials and public mischief was lodged by BJP leader Shyam at Kumarsain police station in Shimla district on May 6 and the journalist was asked to join the probe. Shyam has alleged that Dua, in his programme, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using "deaths and terror attacks" to get votes. PTI

14:30 Ex-CEO of co-op bank in K'taka found dead

A former CEO of a cooperative bank, which was being probed for alleged financial fraud, was found dead in his car in Bengaluru, police said on Tuesday. Police suspect that Vasudeva Maiya may have committed suicide by consuming poison but they hastened to add that the exact cause death would be known only after detailed investigation.

The 70-year-old was found dead in his car which was parked by the roadside near Subramanyapura on Monday night, they said. The Anti Corruption Bureau recently raided the office and residence of Maiya and a few other executives of the Guru Raghavendra Sahakara Bank in connection with the alleged fraud.

The cooperative bank's alleged irregularities came to light in January this year when the Reserve Bank of India stopped all its businesses and imposed restrictions on withdrawal by its customers.

Following the restrictions, scores of its customers thronged the bank, which was reminiscent of the plight of the depositors in the scam-tainted PMC Bank in Mumbai. -- PTI

The Centre has issued a notification on CBI taking over investigation into the deaths of a father and son duo belonging to Tuticorin district, the Tamil Nadu government said on Tuesday.

Following Chief Minister K Palaniswami's letter to Home Minister Amit Shah requesting a probe by the Central agency into the deaths of Jeyaraj and Bennicks, "the Central government has now issued a notification (on CBI taking over investigation into the case)," an official release said.

After announcing a CBI probe recently, Palaniswami had written to the home minister.

The CB-CID is presently handling the case as per the direction of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court.

Five police personnel including an inspector have been arrested so far.

Bennicks and Jeyaraj died on June 22 and 23 respectively after alleged torture by Sathankulam police in Tuticorin district following their arrest on June 19.

They were arrested for alleged violation of prohibitory orders in force due to COVID-19 lockdown by keeping their mobile phone shop in the district beyond the allowed time.

-- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made India proud as China has agreed to disengage at the Line of Actual Control, said NV Subhash BJP's Telangana spokesperson on Tuesday.

"Nation conveys its gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making India proud as China agreed to complete disengagement at LAC," NV Subhash said on the India-China's decision to 'complete disengagement at LAC'.

The BJP leader's remark comes in the backdrop of the decision reached between the two neighbours to ensure complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC and de-escalation from India-China border areas for full restoration of peace and tranquillity.

"It is the result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting Leh and giving a decisive and a firm message at LAC. His address has been globally recognised. Modiji's strong message created waves across the world that that national security is paramount," he added.

Taking a dig at Congress, Subhash said, "Congress party has to change its mindset while dealing with the issues related to international affairs. When the whole nation heaved a sigh of relief with the news that Chinese troops started moving back from Galwan valley, the Congress leaders are trying to take a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his apology for it."

The BJP leader further said that it is Modi's strategy "to degrade China in the international arena" that made its leaders succumb to international pressures.

-- ANI

13:31 Is COVID-19 airborne?

On July 6, an open letter written by 239 global scientists to the World Health Organisation startled the world. It stated that 'there is a real risk that the coronavirus can be airborne, meaning it can spread through microscopic particles that linger in the air.'

The claim in the letter is a significant departure from the WHO's belief so far that COVID-19 is spread primarily by large respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

The letter has created fissures in the scientific community, with many questioning WHO'S efficiency in handling the pandemic, while others assert that the evidence stated in the letter is unconvincing.

The letter has further aggravated the panic among a public already battered by fears about how and where the coronavirus can strike.

Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com spoke to Dr Pradip Awate, Maharashtra's disease surveillance officer, who been tracking the pandemic in Mumbai and Maharashtra, the nation's worst affected city and state, to find out what he thinks about this new theory that the virus could be airborne and if he has encountered any evidence of this in his long battle against COVID-19. Read the interview here

A day after director-producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali recorded his statement at Bandra Police Station in connection with Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide case, Abhishek Trimukhe, DCP (Zone IX), Mumbai Police said that Bhansali was planning to take the actor in four of his films.

"Sanjay Leela Bhansali was planning to take Sushant in four of his films. But due to unavailabilty of dates the films had other actors," Trimukhe said.

He further informed that police has taken in custody CCTV recordings of building where Sushant was staying. "No CCTVs installed in Sushant's house. Forensic reports are awaited," he stated.

"Mumbai Police is investigating into all important details about this case. Mumbai Police is awaiting response from Nodal of Twitter, about the alleged tweets circulated on social media from SSR handle," Trimukhe added.

Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai residence earlier in June. -- ANI

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Shiv Pratap Shukla has slammed the Congress for seeking an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his previous statement on China.

"I think Congress should apologise to the country for accusing PM Modi so many times, who is deeply associated with the public," Shukla said while speaking to ANI.

Observing that India has given a clear message to China under PM Modi, he added, "I feel that India has succeeded in both diplomatic and military level talks. The prime minister's recent visit to Leh also boosted the morale of the Jawans.

"Recently, the Congress sought an apology from Modi after reports of Chinese troops moving back at Galwan area, for his statement that no one had intruded into Indian territory. It also asked PM Modi or Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to brief the nation about the ground situation in Ladakh at present. -- PTI

A section of workers at Bajaj Auto's Waluj manufacturing plant are seeking temporary suspension of operations after 400 employees at the facility have tested positive for COVID-19, as per a union leader.

"We are demanding that due to increased number of COVID-19 cases, work should be suspended for few days to break this cycle of transmission of disease. We are just seeking temporary suspension of work for few days," Bajaj Auto Workers' Union President Thengade Bajirao told PTI when contacted over the matter.

A mail sent to Bajaj Auto regarding the issue remained unanswered. The workers' union, which has around 3,000 members at the Waluj plant, said they have already spoken to the management and have even offered to put in extra hours to compensate for the production loss during the closure.

"There are already over 400 positive cases and seven deaths have also taken place.The management is also trying to find solutions but the fact remains that the number of cases are increasing," Bajirao said.

He further said: "We have even told them that we will compensate for the production loss for the 8-10 days by working extra time and on holidays. There won't be any loss to the company due to this suspension of work. We won't work against the factory."

The last discussion with the management took place in the preceding week and ended without any headway, he said. -- PTI

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12:59 Naxals abduct parents of policeman in Dantewada

Naxals have abducted parents of a policeman in Chhattisgarhs insurgency-hit Dantewada district, police said on Tuesday. A group of ultras barged into the house of District Reserve Guard constable Ajay Telam in Gumiyapal village on Monday night and abducted his father Lachhu Telam (64) and mother Vijjo Telam (62), Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.

They also thrashed the constable's sister and snatched her mobile phone before fleeing the spot, he said. The constable, who was last year recruited in the DRG, the anti-Naxal force of the state police, was not in the house as he stays in his units camp in Dantewada, he said.

Pallava said Naxals seemed to be frustrated after the district police last month launched the Lon Varratu campaign under which posters and banners of the rebels, who carry cash rewards on their heads, are being put up in their native villages. The posters mention their names and appeal to the rebels to join the mainstream, he said. -- PTI

More than 15 lakh people have been quarantined in Mumbai after contact-tracing so far since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city civic body said. Out of these, 5.34 lakh people were identified as high-risk contacts, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said. So far, 13.28 lakh people have completed their 14-day quarantine.

As of now, 2.46 lakh people are under home quarantine and 14,288 under institutional quarantine, the BMC said on its website. Out of 14,288 people under institutional quarantine, 11,409 are lodged at 328 CCC-1 (COVID care centre) facilities, which have a collective capacity of over 50,000 beds, while 2,879 are kept at 57 CCC-2 facilities, having more than 6,100 beds, the BMC said. The CCC-1 facilities are set up mostly in hotels and halls and do not have 24-hour monitoring facility, while CCC-2 are government facilities where doctors and nurses are available round-the-clock.

The BMC said it has acquired several hotels, guest houses, gymkhanas, halls and other places for institutional quarantine and isolation purposes. It has sealed 6,552 buildings and declared 750 slums and chawls (small tenements) as containment zones, after one or more persons there tested positive for coronavirus. Till Monday, Mumbai reported 85,326 COVID-19 cases and 4,935 deaths due to the disease, the BMC said. -- PTI

This inspirational tweet by Chef Vikas Khanna, the man who has organised 9 million meals amid India's lockdown.

"The city of my rebirth - KASHI I had posted this image to find boatsman who helped me recover after my Dad passed away. Our Twitter family found him (Bachau Sahani) and we surprised his entire colony with dry rations And soon he inspired a series of Food-Drives for #FeedIndia."

Supreme Court referring to media reports that more than 50 children in a shelter home in Kanpur are found COVID-19 infected, directed Uttar Pradesh government to file a status report in the issue. Supreme Court hearing the suo moto case relating to the protection of children from COVID-19 in shelter homes appointed advocate Gaurav Aggarwal as the amicus curiae and lists the matter for hearing on July 13.

SC also took into note that states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Tripura are yet to file a reply in the case and granted them time till July 10 to file the report regarding COVID-19 cases among children in shelter homes in these states.

Group Captain A Rathi

12:09 IAF carrying out intensive night-time operations over Eastern Ladakh

Update: Amid tensions with China, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is carrying out night time combat air patrols over the Eastern Ladakh sector.Team ANI reached a forward airbase near China border from where the Indian Air Force is carrying out intensive night operations involving its fighter aircraft including the MiG-29 and Sukhoi-30MKI along with its Apache attack helicopters and the Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.

Notwithstanding the strong winds and the chilling weather, the ground crew and pilots are flying using even very small windows when the wind speed is low.

Explaining the significance of night time operations, senior fighter pilot Group Captain A Rathi deployed at the forward base told ANI, "Night operations have an inherent element of surprise. Indian Air Force is fully trained and ready to undertake an entire spectrum of operations in any environment with the help of modern platforms and highly motivated personnel."

At the forward airbase near China border where team ANI spent more than six hours till late in the night, the first to take off were the lethal Apache attack helicopters.

The pilots of the Apache choppers could be seen flying with their night vision goggles which allows them to navigate through the mountains around the airbase and the dark night.

The strong late evening winds at the airbase and the weather warning almost led to calling off the night sorties but around 10 pm everyone was back to their respective aircraft as the wind speed receded.

Soon after, the mighty Chinook choppers came out on the runway and hovered for some time adjusting to the wind speeds before taking off towards the eastern parts of Ladakh. -- ANI

A day after National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval held talks with Chinese State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asked why "China allowed to justify the murder of 20 unarmed jawans in our territory."

"National interest is paramount. GOI's duty is to protect it. Then, 1 - Why has Status Quo Ante not been insisted on? 2 - Why is China allowed to justify the murder of 20 unarmed jawans in our territory? 3 - Why is there no mention of the territorial sovereignty of Galwan valley?" Rahul tweeted.

The comments of the Congress leader came after India and China have agreed that it was necessary to ensure at the earliest the complete disengagement of the troops along the Line of Actual Control and de-escalation from India-China border areas for full restoration of peace and tranquillity.

The Special Representatives of India and China on the Boundary Question -- Ajit Doval and Wang Yi--- had a 'frank and in-depth exchange' telephone conversation on Sunday during which they agreed that both sides should complete the ongoing disengagement process along the LAC expeditiously, according to a statement by Ministry of External Affairs released on Monday.

They re-affirmed that both sides should strictly respect and observe the LAC and should not take any unilateral action to alter the status quo and work together to avoid any incident in the future that could disturb peace and tranquillity in border areas.

The situation at the India-China border became tense after 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in a violent face-off in the Galwan valley on June 15-16 when Chinese troops attempted to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation. -- ANI

11:36 Mylan to launch Remdesivir@Rs 4,800 a vial

Global pharmaceutical major Mylan has got approval for its remdesivir from the Drug Controller General of India and will launch a generic version of Gilead Sciences' COVID-19 anti-viral in the country at Rs 4,800 for 100 mg/vial.

The drug will be launched under the brand name Desrem in India and will be available to patients later this month at about 80 per cent below the price tag for wealthy nations, the company said.

The approval for restricted emergency use is part of the DCGI's accelerated approval process to address urgent, unmet needs amid the evolving coronavirus pandemic.

Mylan will manufacture remdesivir in India at its injectables facilities which also make the product for the United States and have been inspected by the US Food and Drug Administration for compliance with good manufacturing practices.

The company said it continues to work extensively toward expanding emergency use access for patients in the 127 low- and middle-income countries where it is licenced by Gilead Sciences to do so, subject to reviews by national regulatory bodies and the pre-qualification programme of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The approval by DCGI in India represents the first for Mylan in these 127 markets.

Mylan President Rajiv Malik said the company and Gilead Sciences have partnered for many years to make high-quality medicines available to people who need them and have made significant progress to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, around the world.

"We commend Gilead for their continued leadership on this front, and also applaud and are proud to continue partnering with the DCGI for its ongoing efforts to accelerate access to critical medicine for patients with COVID-19 in India," he said in a statement.

Mylan joins domestic pharma firm Cipla and Hetero which have already received permission from the DCGI to manufacture and market remdesivir for the treatment of Covid-19.

In May, domestic pharma firms Hetero, Cipla and Jubilant Life Sciences and pharma major Mylan had entered into non-exclusive licencing agreements with drug major Gilead Sciences Inc for manufacturing and distribution of remdesivir.The medicine has been issued an emergency use authorisation by the US FDA to treat COVID-19 patients. -- ANI

11:34 Shiv Sena targets PM Modi over COVID-19 crisis

The Shiv Sena on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed confidence that the battle against COVID-19 would be won in 21 days, but it has been over 100 days and the crisis still persists. The fight against COVID-19 is more difficult than the mythological war of Mahabharata, an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said, adding that the battle against the pandemic will continue till 2021 as the disease vaccine won't be available before that. It expressed concern over India reporting the third highest COVID-19 cases in the world.

"It is unfortunate and serious for the country, which is dreaming to become a financial superpower, to report over 25,000 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, the Sena said. We left Russia behind in terms of the number of cases. We will attain the number one slot in this unfortunate area if the number of cases continue to go up," it said.

"The war of Mahabharata lasted for 18 days. Prime Minister Modi had exuded confidence (in March) that we will win this battle against COVID-19 in 21 days. But it has been over 100 days and the coronavirus still persists and those fighting it have become tired," the Shiv Sena said.

Patients are recovering on a big scale in Maharashtra, but the situation in some areas of the state turns one restless, it said citing the example of Thane district, which has been a major COVID-19 hotspot. The Shiv Sena said several politicians, public representatives, policemen, health workers and other administrators are getting infected by the disease, and this does not suit the country and states.

"The coronavirus will be there and (we) need to live with it...the vaccine for coronavirus will not be available before 2021...that means (we) will have to live with coronavirus at least till then," it said.

Without naming anyone or any party, the Shiv Sena said questions are being raised as to for how many days the lockdown will continue. But when you open the door (ease restrictions), the "messengers (threat) of coronavirus" are right out there, the Marathi publication said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has relaxed lockdown restrictions to some extent, but the threat is still not over, the Sena said. It said the COVID-19 must be fought even though the industries, economy and lifestyle have been hit hard by the disease. PTI

IT services major Infosys has brought back over 200 of its employees and their families, who were stranded in the US amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown, according to a senior company executive. The company brought these people back from San Francisco via a special chartered flight that landed in Bengaluru on Monday morning.

"Infosys chartered flight took off from SFO (San Francisco) last night bringing hundreds of employees and families home to Bangalore," Infosys Associate Vice President - Retail, CPG and Logistics Samir Gosavi said in a LinkedIn post.

According to sources, 206 individuals, including Infosys employees and their family members, were brought back. These individuals were stranded in the US after international flights were suspended following the coronavirus virus outbreak and the resultant lockdown, a person said.

The employees were a mix of those working on client sites as well some who had travelled to the US for some meeting or event, another person said. The US is the biggest market for Indian IT services firms accounting for the biggest share of their revenues. For Infosys, North America accounted for over 60 per cent of its revenue for the quarter ended March 2020. PTI

11:08 IAF Apache choppers carry out night ops at LAC

Indian Air Force Apache attack helicopters pictured at a forward airbase near India-China border after it carried out night operations.

Group Captain A Rathi, senior fighter pilot at a Forward Air Base near India-China border told ANI, "Night operations have an inherent element of surprise. IAF is fully trained and ready to undertake the entire spectrum of ops in any environment with help of modern platforms and motivated personnel.

IAF also deployed Chinook heavylift helicopters at the forward airbase during the night operations.

A day before Chinese military began pulling back from Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed on an expeditious withdrawal of troops, holding that a complete disengagement at the "earliest" was necessary for full restoration of peace in border areas and both sides should not allow differences to become disputes.

A doctor at a Goa hospital for COVID-19 treatment has been giving a warm send-off to recovered patients by hugging them to send across a message to the society to accept these people and not ostracise them. Dr Edwin Gomes, the Goa Medical Colleges medicine department head who led a team of doctors at the Margao-based ESI hospital for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, has hugged almost 190 patients at the time of their discharge in the last three months. Back home after 98 days of duty at the hospital, Gomes told PTI, "I hug all the patients when they are discharged after testing negative."

The doctor said this is his way of sending across a message to everybody to not reject these patients, whom he termed as "COVID angels".

"Their plasma can be used to treat other COVID-19 patients as they have the antibodies," he said, adding that the recovered patients are the best persons to share their health experience with others. On his experience of treating coronavirus cases, Gomes said there is a symptom called 'shortness of breath'.

"If one misses that and goes into the breathlessness phase, then it becomes difficult to save the person. One must seek medical help when there is shortness of breath, which these people (recovered patients) know, he explained. -- PTI

10:28 Kanpur encounter: 10 constables transferred

Ten police constables have been transferred from police line to Chaubepur police station, according to an official order. Inspector-General of Police Kanpur Mohit Agarwal has informed that all personnel of the Chaubepur police station are under the scope of investigation in connection with Kanpur encounter, in which history-sheeter Vikas Dubey, along with his men allegedly opened fire on the police team.Eight policemen were killed in the incident.

Last week, three Uttar Pradesh police personnel were suspended on suspicion that they were involved in passing on information to Vikas Dubey.

Earlier Vinay Tiwari, Station House Officer (SHO) of Chaubeypur Police Station in Kanpur district was suspended for fleeing from the spot during a raid to arrest the gangster Dubey in Bikru village.Kanpur IG has said that 25 teams from 40 police stations have been formed to investigate the details of the case. -- ANI

Spain's large-scale study on the coronavirus indicates just 5% of its population has developed antibodies, strengthening evidence that a so-called herd immunity to Covid-19 is "unachievable," the medical journal the Lancet reported on Monday. Read the report here

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10:02 94-year-old woman in Hyderabad recovers from Covid

A 94-year-old woman patient, who was undergoing treatment for coronavirus, was discharged from state-run Gandhi Hospital on Monday after she recovered from the disease.

The woman, P Vijayalaxmi, who is from Hyderabad's Chikkadpalli area said: "The condition of the hospital is good. Doctors and sisters regularly visit wards. Sanitary staff is also coming daily. The hospital also provided us good food."

As many as 1,831 new COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths were reported in Telangana on Monday.Out of the total new cases, 1,419 cases were reported from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) region.

According to the State Health Department, the total number of positive cases in the state now stands at 25,733 including 10,646 active cases, 14,781 discharged and 306 deceased. -- ANI

09:56 India now has 7,00,000+ Covid cases

India's COVID-19 case tally crosses 7 lakh mark with 22,252 new cases and 467 deaths in the last 24 hours. Total positive cases stand at 7,19,665 including 2,59,557 active cases, 4,39,948 cured/discharged/migrated and 20,160 deaths: Ministry of Health.

The total number of samples tested up to July 6 is 1,02,11,092 of which 2,41,430 samples were tested yesterday, the Indian Council of Medical Research, reported.

On the request of the West Bengal government, the frequency of two special trains have been reduced to weekly, Eastern Railway said. Frequency of Howrah-New Delhi-Howrah Special (via Patna) and Howrah-New Delhi-Howrah Special (via Dhanbad) have been reduced to weekly. According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are 22,126 COVID-19 cases in West Bengal, including 6,658 active, 14,711 cured/discharged and 757 deaths. -- ANI

As many as 872 employees of the Central Railway and Western Railway, their family members and retired personnel have so far tested positive for coronavirus and 86 of them have died, officials said. All of them were admitted to the Western Railways Jagjivan Ram Hospital in Mumbai which was in April declared as a facility to treat COVID-19 patients, they said. Of the total cases, 559 were reported from the Central Railway and 313 from the Western Railway, officials said.

Out of the 86 patients who died of COVID-19, 22 were existing railway employees (14 of the Central Railway and eight of the Western Railway) and the others included their family members and retired personnel. As of now, 132 railway employees, besides their family members and retired personnel, are undergoing treatment at the hospital, officials said.

Currently, some special trains, goods trains and 700 local train services with limited number of passengers are being operated here by both the Central Railway and Western Railway.

Some railway unions claimed that since the resumption of local train services from June 15, there has been a rise in COVID-19 cases among railway employees.

"The state government allowed only 15 to 30 per cent attendance in offices, but in the railways nearly 100 per cent field staff personnel are working since the resumption of suburban train services, National RailwayMazdoor Union president Venu Nair said. The zonal railways, however, said there is no connection between the rise in COVID-19 cases and resumption of services.

Central Railway's Chief Public Relations Officer Shivaji Sutar said they are taking utmost care to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among railway personnel and passengers. "We are taking every possible step for the safety of railway employees and passengers and ensuring social distancing. We are providing masks, sanitisers and all other safety equipment to our employees, he said. -- PTI

Three security force personnel were injured in an encounter with militants in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, police said. A police official said that a militant was believed to have been killed during the encounter as he was shot at when he tried to jump from a house. However, the body of the militant is yet to be retrieved.

On a tip off about presence of militants in Goosu village of Pulwama, security forces launched a cordon and search operation, the official said. He said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants opened fire towards security forces positions. Three security force personnel sustained injuries in the initial firefight. They have been evacuated to a hospital, the official said. The operation was going on till last reports came in. PTI

09:11 Global COVID-19 cases top 1.15 crore

The overall number of global Covid-19 cases increases to more than 1.15 crore, while deaths soar to over 5,37,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

The total number of cases stand at 1,15,90,195, while the fatalities rise to 5,37,429, reveals the latest update.

The US accounts for the world's highest number of infections and fatalities with 29,35,008 and 1,30,277, respectively.

Brazil came in the second place with 16,23,284 infections, followed by India with over 7 lakh cases.

Foreign students will not be allowed to stay in the United States this autumn if their universities have moved classes fully online, unless they switch to a course with in-person tuition.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said people could face deportation if they do not comply with the rules.

Many universities are moving classes online due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It is not clear how many students will be affected.

Large numbers of foreign students travel to the US to study every year and are a significant source of revenue for universities as many pay full tuition.

Harvard has announced all course instruction will be delivered online when students return for the new academic year, including those living at the university.

The Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which is run by ICE, had permitted foreign students to continue with their spring and summer 2020 courses online while remaining in the country.

But the new announcement said foreign students who remain in the US while enrolled in online courses and fail to switch to in-person courses could face "immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings".

The rule applies to holders of F-1 and M-1 visas, which are for academic and vocational students. The State Department issued 388,839 F visas and 9,518 M visas in the fiscal year 2019, according to the agency's data.

08:01 Brazil's Bolsonaro tested for COVID-19

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was tested for COVID-19 after having an X-ray of his lungs. He didn't say whether he was showing symptoms of the new coronavirus.

Brazil's presidency said in a statement that the result of the test will be known on Tuesday. Earlier Bolsonaro, who has repeatedly downplayed the risks of the disease, told supporters outside the presidential residence in capital Brasilia that he is feeling well.

Brazil's Supreme Court published documents in May showing that Bolsonaro tested negative three times in March after meeting with US President Donald Trump in Florida. The Brazilian leader hasn't said whether he took any additional tests for the disease since.

Bolsonaro's prior tests were conducted using pseudonyms, as is customary for medical tests performed on Brazilian leaders in order to preserve their privacy.

The president has repeatedly appeared in public without wearing a mask, shaking hands with supporters and mingling with crowds. He has fiercely criticized local leaders' restrictions on activity and said the economic impact of shutdowns would inflict more hardship than the virus.

More than 65,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Brazil.

00:45 China caused great damage to US, world: Trump

China has caused great damage to the United States and the rest of the world, President Donald Trump said on Monday.

Over the last few months, Trump has been holding China responsible for the spread of deadly coronavirus across the world.

The coronavirus has so far claimed the lives of 533,000 people globally with the US topping the chart with 1,32,000 fatalities.

Over 11.4 million people globally and nearly three million in the US -- the highest in the world -- have tested positive for the viral infection so far.

'China has caused great damage to the United States and the rest of the World!' Trump tweeted.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought the economies of the countries, including that of the US, entire Europe and India, to a standstill.

Trump had questioned why China did not report about the COVID-19 outbreak in early stages and let the virus spread across the world.

In an interview to Fox News, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows hinted that the President might sign an executive order that relates to China, among other issues.

"I'll give you a couple of hints, all right. So, a sneak preview here. We're going to be looking at how we make sure that China is addressed, how we bring manufacturing back from overseas to make sure the American worker is supported," he said.

"We're also going to look at a number of issues as it relates to immigration.

"We're going to look at a number of issues as it relates to prescription drug prices and we're going to get them done when Congress couldn't get them done," Meadows said.

China lied and people died, Congressman Paul Gosar said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, state department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus on Monday tweeted that many products made in China are made by slave labour.

Every business should scrub its supply chain to ensure it's not profiting from the Chinese Communist Party's human rights abuse of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, she said.

The story of what has happened to the Uyghur people over the past few years is one of the most disturbing in the world this is potentially one of the worst crimes that we have seen since the Holocaust, Ortagus said.

According to Daniel Twining, president of the International Republican Institute, the last six months have revealed more about China under President Xi Jinping than the previous six years.

China is overplaying its hand and giving western leaders no option but to stand up to it, he tweeted. -- PTI

00:41 Cong greets Dalai Lama on 85th birthday

The Congress on Monday greeted the Dalai Lama on his 85th birthday and took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he may have had 'compulsions for not doing so'.

'We waited for Hon'ble @PMOIndia to lead the nation in wishing HE the Dalai Lama a very Happy Birthday. Modi ji may have had his compulsions for not doing so. On behalf of the entire Nation, we wish HE @DalaiLama a long and healthy life. We are privileged for your blessings,' Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju earlier in the day conveyed his greetings to the Tibetan spiritual leader and said his values and ideals are the guiding light towards love and peace for entire humanity.

Rijiju is the only minister in the Narendra Modi government to have wished the Dalai Lama publicly on his birthday.

The Union sports minister's birthday greetings came amidst India's ongoing border standoff with China. -- PTI

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